Off to a Great Start

Hi everyone,
Thank you for sharing your children with me. They are wonderful and each so unique. I enjoy getting to know them and watching them shine.
Beginning the week of September 8 through 11, we will dive into our letters, numbers, shapes and colors during small group time. Your child's homework this weekend is to search for things that begin with the short /a/ sound like alligator. As they search through the house have a bin or paper bag for them to put things that they find in, then go over what each item is to check for understanding. Allow them to bring one or two of those things to school to put in our letter box - Tuesday and Wednesday we will have the /a/ box and Thursday and Friday we will have the /b/ box. A schedule of our Zoo Phonics letters are in your cubbies when you come back to school, plus I have one posted on our Parent Board.

• Color:  red - please search your home for some red items you can donate to class. I wanted to start this last week but my texture bin was cracked and I hope to have a replacement this week. 
• Shape:  circle
• Number:  1

Just a reminder that we need family pictures - we are making a family book for our reading area so each child can share and learn about their classmates.
Speaking of "share" - our Share Bag is getting passed around, everyone will get a turn. Right now we want to learn something about our classmates, so have your child put things in the bag that interest them i.e.. a plastic animal that is their favorite, ballet shoes because the love to dance, etc.

I appreciate each of you that work in the classroom. This year I don't want you to feel stuck to your assigned table, but feel free to move where the action is. As I do evaluations, letter practice, etc with the children, I will need your help in keeping the kids on task and out of trouble. Remember to use redirection and to remove items that may cause someone to get hurt when used incorrectly. Thank you so much.

As I get to know your children and brainstorm with them about themselves, I realize that we have lots of children interested in becoming either a fire fighter, police officer, or military officer. I would like to incorporate their interest in our small group studies and use their interests in helping them learn their letters, numbers, words, and more. This is where you come in...if any of you work in these fields I would love to get ideas from you, materials, etc to help us develop growth in their understanding. For example, our community helpers need to understand maps, 911, their address, and how to help people. We can cleverly practice letters by pretending they are on fire and call out the one to extinguish, etc.

We also have a lot of interest in our family pets...so we will do a focus on Veterinarians so that the children can care for pets. They will look at x-rays, feed, groom, and diagnose our "stuffed pets". If anyone has access to vet supplies, x-rays, empty pet med bottles, ace bandages, etc that would be greatly appreciated. These new avenues will begin on September 14th if not sooner.

We will also be learning about germs and will prepare for our Apple Farm field trip with apple activities.

Thank you for your help!
Ms. Renee